Tuchel

England coach Thomas Tuchel saluted the players’ “complete” performance in a 7-0 rout of Croatia in the Nations League on Saturday.

England ran riot in Rijeka as Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka both scored twice.

Jude Bellingham was also on target and provided three assists, while Anthony Gordon and Morgan Rogers netted to complete the biggest win of Tuchel’s reign.

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Tuchel said: “That was a 90-minute performance at the highest level from everyone. From the first until the last minute, everyone who started and everyone came from the bench. It was the highest level and congratulations to the team.

“On an away pitch, very, very impressive. We created so many chances. The first 40 minutes we were so fluid from the start.

“I remember looking at the clock, I thought, ‘Wow, this is a good three minutes’, then looked again and it was a good seven minutes. It just never stopped.”

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Tuchel was especially impressed with the way his team kept the pressure on Croatia’s abject defence and ageing midfield.

He added: “We kept the pace up and played through the gaps. We were very clinical. Stayed hungry in our counter pressing and defending, so we did the basics right.

“I love the attitude. We always played humble and always got the basics right and that’s why it was a complete performance.”

After losing to world champions Spain in the first game, England responded with a 2-0 win in the Czech Republic on Tuesday before demolishing Croatia.

England will conclude their three-week international break at home to Czech Republic on Tuesday, when a win would take them closer to the top-two finish that guarantees a place in the quarter-finals.

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